It is what it Isn’t!

I’m in this mad creative frenzy at the moment.  Funny how that happens. You go through periods where your inspiration just dries up and it’s like you are trudging through this vast desert of “what the heck am I supposed to do now!”-parched and dry with the vultures circling overhead… and then suddenly your head just explodes and there isn’t enough time in the day to do all the things your brain is throwing at you!

(Wish I could credit the artist who drew this cute little doodle!  Saw it on Facebook.)

This mixed media art stuff is just sooo addictive because anything and everything becomes inspiration.  I just LOVE looking at stuff and seeing it, in my imagination, as something else.

There is something almost childlike about doing that… Ever watched toddlers or even babies explore something new?  They figure out what it’s supposed to do, but then, when they tire of that, they start figuring out other potential uses for it… A bucket becomes a hat, or a seat or a drum… It doesn’t just have to be something you PUT something in. The possibilities are almost endless! We are BORN with this kind of creativity!

I think as we grow up though we lose this ability to look at things from all angles. We become “it is what it is” people.

Boring!  Don’t ever become one of those people – because then you get old, quicker, and before you know it you’ve got doilies on the coffee table and three flying ducks on the wall.   No offense to doily and three flying ducks folk, but I just happen to dislike those things immensely -unless I can turn them into something else!

The other day I spotted my daughters tea strainer thingy in the kitchen.  You know, the little ball ones that open up? Oh my God…immediately I saw steampunk goggles!  In fact while rummaging in the kitchen drawer, I discovered a spare tea strainer thingy, similar but not quite the same…it must be one my husband bought.  I stood there playing with it,  one that kind of springs open with a scissor type mechanism, and I accidentally broke it.  What a shame hey…. I really didn’t MEAN to, but since it’s broken now…..

Then, the other evening I had to laugh when my son came home – he is working as a mechanic, so I asked him if at work if there are ever little bits and pieces lying around that look vaguely steam punky?  (Worth asking?)  At the same time I mentioned that I’d found something interesting in the garage (my craft space) that I was excited about because it had “potential”.

Well, his eyes went wide when he saw the bit I was talking about.

“You can’t use that! That is the clip that holds the battery in, in my other car!” he said.

Bwahhahahaha!  Oh my, I found that extremely funny!

I was disappointed, but very amused.

“Don’t leave your bits in here then!” I said.  “They WILL get used!”

Recently my husband began the process of replacing the spring type thingies that close the cupboard doors in the kitchen –or in our case DON’T close the doors.

Even those it seems have potential.  Once he is done I am going to remove all the little spring things in them.  I’m sure they will have a use in my projects.  When I told him this he said  “ Nothing is sacred with you is it?”

Well!  If it’s going in the bin, why not!

We went to Bunnings (big hardware store) – to get the new spring thingies for the doors.   I stood transfixed in the “fixings” aisle…as my husband called it.  The aisle where all the screws and washers and doodads are.  I don’t know what half of them are called, but OH, I could see sooo much potential in some of the stuff!

I ended up getting a bunch of washers and some other things that I have no idea what they are used for but I am using them for steam punk art! Here are some I have already glued together.

I told my husband “ You should think yourself lucky that you have a wife that you can keep happy by buying her a few packets of washers!

This is my latest creation…because in MY world, pigs CAN fly!

The hot air balloon is a slice of Styrofoam ball on cardboard wrapped in packing tape, tissue paper, a piece of webby like scarf, and junk jewellery.  The wings are made from cardboard, glue and tissue paper.   The tractor is a cheap fridge magnet that I doozied up a bit and the pig…oh the dramas with the pig!  The pig is simply a vintage pig from a site called The Graphics Fairy, where you can download and use royalty free vintage images.

Originally, for the pig, I wanted to use a toy plastic pig, cut in half so the back part was flat, and just have that suspended from the balloon…I thought I’d buy one of those cheap farmyard animal sets.  Do you think I could FIND one though?  Nope!  Not anywhere!

When I was mumbling about making it, and on the hunt for a suitable pig my husband said “ Why a pig?”   ::::  face palm :::

THAT is because he is an “ it is what it is” person.

I should buy him some doilies and flying ducks.